Editorial: Suffolk's big loan on a big building

$46 million -- That's how much more Suffolk County borrowed on its headquarters, the H. Lee Dennison Building, than it's worth. The county got $70 million in November when the Suffolk Judicial Facilities Agency borrowed to buy the building in Hauppauge. After the county makes 20 annual bond payments of $4.8 million, the county itself will regain ownership. Appraisals value the building at $23.5 million. That gap brings an interest rate a third higher than Suffolk paid on other recent borrowing. The move to close one year's budget gap will cost us for two decades.